Press Releases

Women Healthcare Leaders Launch "Time's Up Healthcare" to Ensure Safety and Equity in the Healthcare Industry

TIME’S UP announced today the launch of TIME’S UP Healthcare, a new affiliate which aims to drive new policies and decisions that result in more balanced, diverse and accountable leadership; address workplace discrimination, harassment and abuse; and create equitable and safe work cultures within all facets of the healthcare industry. TIME’S UP Healthcare is the newest industry affiliate of TIME’S UP, joining a coalition of women across industries dedicated to advancing the organization’s mission of creating safe, fair and dignified work for women of all kinds.

“At the Brigham, it is essential that our diverse community of patients, families and employees all feel welcome, cared for and valued. We do not tolerate bias, harassment or discrimination of any kind. Supporting the mission of Time’s Up Healthcare aligns with our core values, and we’re proud to endorse these efforts,” said Betsy Nabel, MD, president of Brigham Health.

Inspired by the messages of TIME’S UP and galvanized by persistent data on gender inequities in healthcare careers and an entrenched culture of harassment, an energized group of women came together to form TIME’S UP Healthcare. Over the past six months, TIME’S UP Healthcare has grown to a group of 50 founding members and 13 senior advisors and is associated with a network of leading institutions in healthcare, all rallying around a call to increase safety and equity in the industry.

“The outpouring of support we have received is indicative of the real thirst for change in our industry. Women make up 80% of healthcare workers, but only 11% of healthcare CEOs. We are well represented in this workforce, but not in positions of power,” said Esther Choo, MD MPH, Founding Member of TIME’S UP Healthcare. “TIME’S UP’s mission resonates deeply with our industry and we are honored to join the expansive and diverse TIME’S UP network to collectively transform outdated systems of power in our workforces.”

TIME’S UP Healthcare is made up of women of all kinds from diverse backgrounds and specialties ranging from emergency medicine to psychiatry. Its founders and leaders represent a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, physician assistants, clinical pharmacists and more, steadfast in the shared goal of improving gender equity and decreasing the burden of sexual harassment in healthcare. In recognition of the fact that problems of gender inequity and sexual harassment affect all healthcare workers, TIME’S UP Healthcare organizers are committed to unifying professionals across fields and engaging and supporting organizations and individuals at every level of healthcare delivery.

“As an emergency room physician, I am trained to advocate for my patients and ensure that they are getting the best treatment and care possible. With the launch of TIME’S UP Healthcare, I’m committing to using these same skills to fight for my colleagues and peers, because just like our patients, every healthcare employee deserves a workplace where they can thrive -- free of harassment and abuse with equal opportunity to grow and prosper,” said Dara Kass, MD, Founding Member of TIME’S UP Healthcare.

Launched by a group of women in the entertainment industry on January 1, 2018, TIME’S UP has since expanded across industries and geographies with groups organizing in advertising, entertainment, press, tech, music, venture, and more, and across cities and countries including in New York, UK, Australia and more. TIME’S UP also partners with advocacy groups representing farmworkers, restaurant workers, and domestic workers, as well as other leaders who have been advocating for safe workplaces for decades.

“We are so inspired by this group of women across the healthcare industry who have mobilized and organized this initiative, while saving lives in their day jobs. These women have the expertise, experience and power to create change and we are proud to have them officially join our expanding TIME’S UP network,” said Rebecca Goldman, interim CEO of TIME’S UP. “As working women we are all linked by our shared experiences, and across industries we are coming together to create a powerful coalition that refuses to play by the old rules. We are growing and we are here to stay.”

TIME’S UP Healthcare is an initiative of the TIME’S UP Foundation, which supports a growing number of industry affiliates driving change. The TIME’S UP Foundation, a public charity tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, also supports the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund, which is housed at and administered by the National Women’s Law Center Fund, and connects those who experience sexual misconduct and related retaliation in the workplace or in trying to advance their careers with legal and public relations assistance. The National Women’s Law Center Fund also connects those facing sexual harassment and other forms of sex discrimination in school or in healthcare with attorneys. To date, healthcare professionals represent the second largest group of people who have contacted the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund for assistance, following only workers from arts and entertainment.

“Healthcare professionals at every level dedicate our lives to protecting others, but we know that we can best serve our patients only when our working conditions are safe and fair. TIME’S UP Healthcare will ultimately help us all be better stewards of care for patients by providing us the platform and practices to advocate for ourselves,” said Tiffany A. Love, PhD FACHE, Regional Chief Nursing Officer, Coastal Healthcare Alliance, Founding Member of TIME’S UP Healthcare.

TIME’S UP Healthcare is also supported by a range of partners including the American Medical Women’s Association, American College of Physicians, the National Medical Association, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Nurses Association and Council of Medical Subspecialties (CMSS). These organizations have publicly declared their commitment to TIME’S UP Healthcare’s organizational principles: 1) sexual harassment and gender inequity have no place in the healthcare workplace; 2) every employee should have equitable opportunity, support, and compensation; and 3) we cannot address a problem without understanding its scope and impact. TIME’S UP Healthcare signatories include Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Drexel University College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, UW Health and Yale Medical School, who have each stepped forward with an open commitment to these principles as well. TIME’S UP Healthcare’s founding sponsors include: FIGS, Horizon Pharma, InCrowd and American Medical Women's Association.